Leveling The Playing Field—Through Play

TRANSCRIPT

Question:And how does sports contribute to the achievement of rights for children
with disabilities?

Tim Shriver:Well it's no secret that children love to play.Play is the environment where the
imagination is first tested and allowed to exercise itself.Play is the environment where
relationships are formed in young children.Mothers and children play, make believe, create the world in
which they grow up and learn, create safety, creates a sense of understanding,
allows emotions to be understood and made safe for a child.

From the earliest of ages, it doesn't change much as children
grow. The games change: hide-and-seek yields to football and football may yield
to swimming, but they're the same lessons, the same questions, the same exuberance,
the same desire to create a world where you can express yourself, where you can
feel positive and powerful, where you can have a sense of relationships that
allow you to sore.That's what
sports is for most children, but sadly not for children with intellectual
disabilities for too many generations.When it came time for the child with special needs to say, "I'm
ready to play.I want to test my
skills, my body, my strength.I
want a chance to win.I want to be
involved in all the fun and excitement and exuberance of sports."Too frequency people said, "No,
I'm sorry.Not for you.You don't belong.You don't have the gifts.You can't contribute."

Sports, in our world, in the world of Special Olympics, is all
about saying, "Yes.Oh, yes you
do.Come into this world, we will
give you your chance to shine.We
will tell the community around what you can do.We will show your country that your time is now, your joy,
your imagination, your vision belongs in this country, too."